Last Modified: Monday, August 29, 2011 at 12:22 a.m.

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His 574-mile journey took him the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway and ended in Cherokee in just 17½ days.

“A lot of people do these long ‘ultra' runs, but I guess the reason my run is unique is because of my age,” Lister said. “I'm hoping maybe my run will inspire some people. It illustrates that when we get older, we can still be active. We can really accomplish more physically and mentally than we think we can.”

‘Dream it then go do it'

Dave Horner is a personal trainer and one of Lister's good friends. When Horner competed in his first Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, Calif., Lister was one of the members of his original race crew.

“Don was really the one who pushed me into racing in the Badwater race, and I'm glad I did,” Horner said. “It was an unbelievable experience.”

Through the Badwater race, Lister met Marshall Ulrich, an ultra-marathoner and author of “Running on Empty.”

“We met, and I bought a copy of his book and got it signed. On the inside cover, Marshall wrote, ‘Don, Dream it then go do it.' Those are words I'll never forget,” Lister said.

Those words inspired Lister to begin his journey runs.

“We then planned on the Blue Ridge Parkway, mapping our route. It took a good two years of planning, but it was all worth it,” Lister said.

‘Never, ever give up'

Lister said he has had a job since he was 14 years old and that he had gained a lot of weight by his mid-30s.

“I was never an athlete in high school or college. I just didn't get into that sort of thing,” he said.

When his weight became a problem, he knew he had to do something about it.

“So I began running. I started when I was 37, and I've been running consistently ever since,” he said.

Lister said Horner got him involved in ultra-marathons about seven years ago. Now, he's hooked. Lister has traversed long mountain trails in the past, but he knew the Parkway was going to be much more of a challenge.

“Those mountain trails on dirt, grass and rocks are a lot more forgiving for your feet. I knew one of the big issues was going to be the asphalt, and I was right,” he said. “The pain was unbearable. It felt like someone was hitting the bottom of my feet with a hammer.”

Lister did some research prior to the run and found out that your body adapts.

“People said it would get better, but by the fifth day, I wasn't buying it. Then around Day 10, the pain subsided. I was amazed,” he said.

After overcoming his biggest obstacle, Lister knew he was going to do what a lot of people thought was impossible, especially for a man in his 60s.

“My strength is my mental tenacity. It reminds me of that Jim Valvano speech at the ESPYs, where he said ‘Never, ever give up.' That kept me going. As I got near the end of my run, I was surprised how great I felt. I was hoping to average around 25-26 miles per day. I ended up averaging 33,” he said.

‘Energizer Bunny'

On every mile of his run, his wife, Becky, was there for him.

“She was my crew. She would drive a few miles up the road and have water or food for me,” Lister said. “I couldn't have done it without her.”

Both Listers aren't done yet.

“We're already planning some more runs in the future. I'm thinking about doing Nachez Trace, which runs from Nashville, Tenn., to Nachez, Miss. I'm also considering running across the States. I'd probably do north to south first and if that goes well, I'll try the east to west, like a lot of other people do,” Lister said.

“Those are the next steps. I couldn't even begin to think about those until I finished the Parkway. Now that I have, it's time to move on. My wife calls me the Energizer Bunny, because I keep going and going and going and going.”

<p>On the morning of Aug. 6 at Skyline Drive in Front Royal, Va., 67-year-old Don Lister of Hendersonville set out on what he calls “a journey run.”</p><p>His 574-mile journey took him the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway and ended in Cherokee in just 17½ days.</p><p>“A lot of people do these long 'ultra' runs, but I guess the reason my run is unique is because of my age,” Lister said. “I'm hoping maybe my run will inspire some people. It illustrates that when we get older, we can still be active. We can really accomplish more physically and mentally than we think we can.”</p><h3>'Dream it then go do it'</h3>
<p>Dave Horner is a personal trainer and one of Lister's good friends. When Horner competed in his first Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, Calif., Lister was one of the members of his original race crew.</p><p>“Don was really the one who pushed me into racing in the Badwater race, and I'm glad I did,” Horner said. “It was an unbelievable experience.”</p><p>Through the Badwater race, Lister met Marshall Ulrich, an ultra-marathoner and author of “Running on Empty.”</p><p>“We met, and I bought a copy of his book and got it signed. On the inside cover, Marshall wrote, 'Don, Dream it then go do it.' Those are words I'll never forget,” Lister said.</p><p>Those words inspired Lister to begin his journey runs.</p><p>“We then planned on the Blue Ridge Parkway, mapping our route. It took a good two years of planning, but it was all worth it,” Lister said.</p><h3>'Never, ever give up'</h3>
<p>Lister said he has had a job since he was 14 years old and that he had gained a lot of weight by his mid-30s.</p><p>“I was never an athlete in high school or college. I just didn't get into that sort of thing,” he said.</p><p>When his weight became a problem, he knew he had to do something about it.</p><p>“So I began running. I started when I was 37, and I've been running consistently ever since,” he said.</p><p>Lister said Horner got him involved in ultra-marathons about seven years ago. Now, he's hooked. Lister has traversed long mountain trails in the past, but he knew the Parkway was going to be much more of a challenge.</p><p>“Those mountain trails on dirt, grass and rocks are a lot more forgiving for your feet. I knew one of the big issues was going to be the asphalt, and I was right,” he said. “The pain was unbearable. It felt like someone was hitting the bottom of my feet with a hammer.”</p><p>Lister did some research prior to the run and found out that your body adapts.</p><p>“People said it would get better, but by the fifth day, I wasn't buying it. Then around Day 10, the pain subsided. I was amazed,” he said.</p><p>After overcoming his biggest obstacle, Lister knew he was going to do what a lot of people thought was impossible, especially for a man in his 60s.</p><p>“My strength is my mental tenacity. It reminds me of that Jim Valvano speech at the ESPYs, where he said 'Never, ever give up.' That kept me going. As I got near the end of my run, I was surprised how great I felt. I was hoping to average around 25-26 miles per day. I ended up averaging 33,” he said.</p><h3>'Energizer Bunny'</h3>
<p>On every mile of his run, his wife, Becky, was there for him.</p><p>“She was my crew. She would drive a few miles up the road and have water or food for me,” Lister said. “I couldn't have done it without her.”</p><p>Both Listers aren't done yet.</p><p>“We're already planning some more runs in the future. I'm thinking about doing Nachez Trace, which runs from Nashville, Tenn., to Nachez, Miss. I'm also considering running across the States. I'd probably do north to south first and if that goes well, I'll try the east to west, like a lot of other people do,” Lister said.</p><p>“Those are the next steps. I couldn't even begin to think about those until I finished the Parkway. Now that I have, it's time to move on. My wife calls me the Energizer Bunny, because I keep going and going and going and going.”</p>